New Android App Launched - AvNav

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femski

Filing Flight Plan
Joined
Dec 6, 2013
Messages
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Display name:
N7708P
Folks !

I have released a new Android App in flight-planning/EFB category.
Name is "AvNav".

Google Play Link:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...d=us.avnav.efb

Highlights:
  • Intuitive easy to use tabbed browsing interface. Uses modern Android UI/Tablet features - Android 4.0 is required.
  • Powered by high performance BA3 Mapping engine - Track-up or North up - Sectional, IFR Hi or Low charts
  • No need to bulk download maps: get started quickly using tiled maps from server
  • Split-screen support (Map + Flight plan or Map + Plates)
  • Bends-only Victor airways and winds aloft in flight plans
  • Graphical Rubber-banding of flight plans
  • Nexrad, Metar, Satellite, TFR and Airspace overlays on map page
  • Entire range of weather imagery
Please give it a try - you won't be disappointed !

Thank you,

-Sanjay
 
Here is Page-by-page feature list:

Airport page:
  • Global database of 44,000 airports with NOTAMs, Runways and Frequencies.
  • For US Airports: Operational statistics, Remarks, IAPs (Plates), A/FD (Airport Facility Directory) and Airport Diagrams

Flight Planning:

  • Rubber-banding - simply drag the line !
  • Victor airways (including bends-only planning),
  • Support for round-the-world flight plans !
  • Winds Aloft compensation in the flight plan
  • Altitude optimizer (find optimal altitude based on winds aloft for speed and temperature for comfort)

Map/Nav Page Page:

  • Powered by High performance BA3 Altus Mapping Engine !
  • US Sectional, IFR Enroute (Low & Hi) charts, Track-up or North-up
  • Choice of basemap: Mapquest Satellite, OpenStreat Map, World Map with rivers & political boundaries
  • Automatic runway extension
  • User Waypoints
  • Direct To Navigation

Map Page Overlays:

  • Graphical TFRs
  • NexRad, IR/Vis Satellite
  • Airspaces (Class B, C, D)
  • Metar parameters (Flight rules, Sky Condition, Temperature, Visibility and Wind)

Weather Page:
  • Metar and TAF along route of flight
  • Surface Prognostic charts, SIGMETs, AIRMETs
  • Flight Rules, Area Forecast, Winds ALoft, PIREPs, Freezing Level charts
  • Radar Composite, Radar Regional (static and Looping), Satellite (US and International)

Streamlines download page:
  • Download multiple maps concurrently
  • Continue to use the app while download is in progress

Geocoding search - on airport page and map page
 
I'll give it a download Sanjay. Thanks.

Right now, I have Garmin pilot and Avare on the Nexus 7.

Flying weather is crummy right now, but as soon as I can try it, I'll come back and comment. :)
 
Woops...

App says it is not compatible with Nexus 7.

I see MetarMap Lite is, but not this new app. :confused:
 
txflyer said:
Woops...

App says it is not compatible with Nexus 7.

I see MetarMap Lite is, but not this new app. :confused:
Click to expand...

Sorry, but that's correct. There is a crash on old nexus 7s (2012 editions) I am working to resolve it with mapping engine provider. 2013 edition Nexus 7 works.
 
Wow, says my my Galaxy S4 isn't compatible either... What is compatible?
 
Henning said:
Wow, says my my Galaxy S4 isn't compatible either... What is compatible?
Click to expand...

A 7-10" tablet is required. That's approx. 500 or so Android devices out of 4500 total.
 
femski said:
A 7-10" tablet is required. That's approx. 500 or so Android devices out of 4500 total.
Click to expand...

Well if the Nexus 7, probably the best selling of them, is eliminated, you don't have much of a product, sorry.
 
Guys, App works on 2012 Nexus 7 - just that it crashes when you exit Map page - that's not good enough. We will fix it but until then I am keeping it on "excluded" list.

I have tested it as working on Nexus 10, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Motorola Xyboard 8.2, Nexus 7 2013 editions.
 
Last edited:
Femski, you keep late hours!! You don't say in your description if this is a moving map using GPS.
 
creweite said:
Femski, you keep late hours!! You don't say in your description if this is a moving map using GPS.
Click to expand...

Please use the little compass icon/Navigation button on the map page to turn on GPS tacking. It will show your position on charts/maps etc - North up or Track up or Track Forward. It will show distance to Next waypoint, bearing, ETE etc.

It has everything you expect from an EFB/Moving map application (like ForeFlight/WingX). We will add FBO/Fuel Prices, DUATS File & Brief, Geo-referenced charts and ADS-B - in the next few months.
 
Why does it take so long to download the airports database? With all my other aviation apps, the airports database is the fastest thing to load, and only takes ~10 sec?

...ugh. And apparently I pressed the home button as I was setting the tablet down to type this note on my laptop, and interrupted the download. Back to 0%.

...ugh. And it crashed the second time I tried to load the database.

...ugh! And the third time, as I set down the tablet, the screen rotated, and the download interrupted and went back to the disclaimer page!

...UGH! And the fourth time, it got stuck on 0%!

...UGH!!! And after repeated attempts, it's still stuck on 0%! Uninstall, and reinstall. It's now loading again...slowly. I'm going to go get a cup of coffee before I try to touch it again.

Sigh. This is way harder than it ought to be.
 
Jim_R said:
Why does it take so long to download the airports database? With all my other aviation apps, the airports database is the fastest thing to load, and only takes ~10 sec?

Sigh. This is way harder than it ought to be.
Click to expand...

Database download should take 10 seconds - agreed. It seems when you pressed "home" during first download the airport file got "locked" - and now its hanging trying to download. I will have a fix. But for now you may have to reboot your tablet to cleanup the lock.
 
FlightAssistant said:
Looks fairly comprehensive...

Do you only cover the US or the rest of us as well (Europe ?) ?
Click to expand...

Thanks. We have global Metars and Airport database is global. Weather page has some global satellite imagery. So you can use it for limited flight planning.

But at this time we don't have charts etc for Europe/Canada - this is something on to do list but comes after we have finished the feature set for US (ADS-B, DUATS file brief, FBO/Fuel etc.)
 
Guys and gals. Welcome to beta testing. Gotta be pretty patient to help him work the bugs. The payoff is usually getting what you want in an app.
 
Definitely a beta. But it's called a "first release." Expectations are quite different.

It doesn't seem to be very stable on a saturated network, especially if multiple downloads are attempted.
 
MAKG1 said:
Definitely a beta. But it's called a "first release." Expectations are quite different.

It doesn't seem to be very stable on a saturated network, especially if multiple downloads are attempted.
Click to expand...

Yes, if you have many more downloads than number of cores/cpus it will eventually start to hang/lockup. No easy fix for that - so I am thinking something long term for this. But please consider that most other software don't even allow any simultaneous multiple downloads.

App has been development for five months and I have been testing it on five models for month plus now. So I am also little disappointed by some of the problems reported (at the same time many early users have reported smooth sailing, I am glad to hear that !) I am monitoring all the crashes in the background through crash analytic software.

Just released version 1.0.1 - this should reduce the probability of a hang/lock-up during database download. Plus stop some of the crashes/exception. It should be available at play store in a few hours.
 
Just downloaded and installed it on a Nexus 7 (2013).

It's stable, so far.

Comments:

- Zooming the base map seemed to take longer than normal.
- The base map looks like a sectional chart, but I see I must download the actual charts for my area. I'm doing so now, but its taking forever on a pretty fast DSL WiFi system.
- The user interface is quite different from Garmin Pilot. This is neither good nor bad.

So far, I'm impressed. I will post more as time permits, and after we fly with it.
 
Just downloaded it to a Motorola XOOM running Android 4.1.2.

A few quick observations while 'flying' my recliner at home:
* After downloading the airport database, it went to a blank screen - apparently the scratch pad. I didn't know what was going on, so I exited the app and opened it back up and the menus were visible. They weren't there initially.
* When rotating between landscape and portrait, it always returns to the main screen. Ex: I am on the 'Wx' tab, and if I rotate the screen, it takes me back to the 'Info' tab.
* On the METAR tab, the 'Distance' field is showing "33 kts". I assume Distance = distance to that airport from my current location? If so, shouldn't that be "33 nm"?
* I like the 'embedded' scrolling boxes (like the ones used to separate the 'Metar for {local airport}' from the 'Nearby Metars', but there isn't anything obvious that tells the user that the boxes are scrollable. Maybe show the scrollbar on the side always - it's pretty small and will signify that there is more to be seen by scrolling the smaller box.
* METAR is an acronym and should probably be ALL CAPS - in some places, it is displayed like a proper noun - "Metar". Not a functional thing, but something that would help tidy up the app.
* On the TAF tab, I'm not sure what the wind reports are telling me. Ex: Right now it is saying "KFTY Fulton County Brown Field 31kts @ 24*". No way is the wind blowing 31kts around here right now. Either it's bad data, or I'm not understanding what the numbers are trying to tell me.
* On the TAF tab, for the wind reports for each location, my PERSONAL preference is to have winds reported as 020* @ 7 kt instead of 20* @ 7 kt. I'm just so used to seeing all compass directions reported in 3 digit numbers. Just a personal preference - just throwing it out there.

Overall, I think you have a good start. Looking forward to watching it as you keep working on it.
 
mikea said:
How about a Nexus 7?
Click to expand...
Addressed earlier.
femski said:
Guys, App works on 2012 Nexus 7 - just that it crashes when you exit Map page - that's not good enough. We will fix it but until then I am keeping it on "excluded" list.

I have tested it as working on Nexus 10, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Motorola Xyboard 8.2, Nexus 7 2013 editions.
Click to expand...
 
Played with it some more, sadly in my chair.

Cons: The map screen is really jacked up. When I programmed a flight to my nearest airport earlier today, it showed the sectional chart slowly, but surely. Very slowly.

When I did the same exact process again tonight, all I got was a black screen. Eventually, after randomly goofing around with other parts of the app, and then going back to the map screen, it reluctantly drew the sectional. (Yes, I've downloaded my three nearest sectionals.). This needs attention, pronto.

Pros: I really, really like the weather maps. They pop up quickly, especially the moving map radars.

More thoughts as I run across problems.
 
CJones said:
Just downloaded it to a Motorola XOOM running Android 4.1.2.

A few quick observations while 'flying' my recliner at home:
* After downloading the airport database, it went to a blank screen - apparently the scratch pad. I didn't know what was going on, so I exited the app and opened it back up and the menus were visible. They weren't there initially.
......
Overall, I think you have a good start. Looking forward to watching it as you keep working on it.
Click to expand...

All worthwhile improvements - have been incorporated in the next release.
 
Jay Honeck said:
Played with it some more, sadly in my chair.

Cons: The map screen is really jacked up. When I programmed a flight to my nearest airport earlier today, it showed the sectional chart slowly, but surely. Very slowly.

................
Pros: I really, really like the weather maps. They pop up quickly, especially the moving map radars.

More thoughts as I run across problems.
Click to expand...

I am looking into this. Nexus 7 2013 is really fast tablet - map should not be that slow.

With everything on - Nexus 10 takes 3 seconds to draw map. It can take upto 7 seconds on old Nexus 7 (currently on disabled list).

In the next release, all airspaces, METARs, TFRs, and weather overlays - will be off by default. You can add them as needed (and as device horse power permits). This helps improve performance significantly.

-Sanjay
 
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